Minor Fictional Characters in The War That Came Early
This article lists the various minor fictional characters who appear in The War That Came Early series. These characters play at best a peripheral role in the series. Most were simply mentioned once, or had a very brief, unimportant speaking role that did not impact the plot, and never appeared again. Most are identified by a name, but not all of them are. As the series is ongoing as of this writing, certain characters may suddenly gain importance. Ned Altrock (Last Orders) Ned Altrock was a Democratic Party fixer in Pennsylvania. In late 1943 he called Peggy Druce to ask her if she was willing to do more speeches in support of the Administration throughout the state in preparations for the elections the following year. Druce agreed on the condition that her expenses be covered like the last time. Altrock not only found that acceptable, he offered Druce a stipend since money would be tighter for her after her divorce.Last Orders, pg. 201, HC. Anton (The Big Switch) Anton was a German soldier in World War II. He served in the same squad as Arno Baatz and Willi Dernen but was not in Baatz's section. In the late winter of 1940, Anton and a number of comrades were sitting in an abandoned house in an occupied village in northeastern France. They were listening to the radio. An official newsreader announced the Soviet surrender to Japan and made the logically suspect statement that the Soviets would soon surrender in the west as well. Anton pointed out the illogic of this editorial comment. Dernen attempted to warn him that it was not safe to say such things publicly, and Baatz impugned Anton's patriotism. It was apparent that Anton truly did not understand the political considerations at work and became very defensive about his right to express so self-evident a feeling. This drew him into a vicious argument with Baatz. Most of the soldiers in the house sided with Anton because of Baatz's unpopularity, but Baatz left the house. Dernen said he was likely going to denounce Anton to the authorities. Anton still could not understand what he'd done wrong and proceeded to bicker with Dernen, pointing out that Dernen had been close to the defector Wolfgang Storch. (The German authorities did not know that Storch had defected, but they did know that his disappearance during a French bombardment had conveniently come right before the SS had the opportunity to arrest him, and suspected--correctly--that Dernen had been involved in the disappearance.) Anton eventually stormed out of the house himself when other soldiers told him to shut up so they could listen to the music.The Big Switch ch 7 Markus Apfelbaum (Two Fronts) Rear Admiral Markus Apfelbaum was a high-ranking officer at the submarine base at Wilhelmshaven. His duties included enforcing political correctness on personnel connected to that base. In 1942, he learned through one of his spies of politically questionable comments indiscreetly made by Julius Lemp when Lemp had put in at Wilhelmshaven for a refit. Apfelbaum summoned Lemp to his office and dressed him down.Two Fronts pp 153-54 Arkady (2F) Arkady was a member of the Red Air Force. During a chess match between Anastas Mouradian and Isa Mogamedov, he offered unsolicited, unwanted advice to Mouradian. Two Fronts pp 322-324 Baby Trotsky (2F) In late 1942, Ivan Kuchkov and his squad encountered a group of Ukrainian nationalists led by a man who, in Kuchkov's opinion, looked like "Leon Trotsky's kid brother". Throughout the encounter, Kuchkov mentally referred to the leader as Baby Trotsky. Kuchkov parleyed with the group alone, ultimately convincing Baby Trotsky and the other Ukraninans to leave the woods so the Soviets could set up a position against the Germans. He was able to convince the whole group that since the Germans were retreating from Ukraine, the Ukrainians were completely vulnerable to his unit. Kuchkov was disgusted by the fact that although he was obviously the leader, Baby Trotsky had to speak to the other members of the nationalist band before making a decision.Two Fronts pgs. 235-237. Helmut Bauer (Coup d'Etat) Helmut Bauer was a squadmate of Hans-Ulrich Rudel. In 1941, as the winter turned to spring, and Germany restarted its drive on Smolensk, Bauer wondered how useful Germany's new ally, Romania would be in protecting Germany's flank in southern Ukraine.Coup d'Etat pg. 124-125. Ludwig Bauer (Last Orders) Major Ludwig Bauer fought World War II on the western front. When the Committee for the Salvation of the German Nation overthrew Adolf Hitler, Major Bauer was serving in Belgium. He chose to surrender and be made a POW rather than fighting in a civil war with his fellow Germans. He therefore crossed the lines with a white flag and surrendered to Staff Sergent Alistair Walsh. After a brief questioning, Walsh had Pvt. Jack Scholes take Bauer back to regimental HQ for processing.Last Orders pgs. 316-317, HC. Benno (West and East) Benno was a friend of Sgt. Hermann Witt's. The two went through basic training together and though Benno went into the infantry and Witt into panzers, they stayed in touch. They found themselves in the same sector while fighting the Soviet Red Army in Poland and renewed their friendship. Benno told Witt about one of the patrols he went on where they found the mutilated bodies of soldiers from another patrol. The Soviets had cut off their cocks and stuffed them into their mouths as a terror tactic. When Witt told this to his panzer crew, Adalbert Stoss expressed the hope they were dead before it was done to them.West and East, pg. 429, HC. Joe Billings (CdE) Joe Billings was a British sergeant who by 1941 had already been stationed in Egypt for quite some time. He struck up a friendly conversation with his newly arrived fellow sergeant Alistair Walsh when Walsh arrived in North Africa to take part in the campaign against Italy. He also apprised Walsh of the situation on the ground, explaining that much of the Italian resistance was halfhearted and that even when it wasn't, the British could usually outlast their undersupplied enemies.Coup d'Etat ch 20 Waldemar Böhme (CdE) Waldemar Böhme was a captain in the Kriegsmarine. He commanded the submarine base at Namsos. He shared his concerns with Julius Lemp that the unpopularity of Vidkun Quisling's collaborationist regime put the German occupation of Norway in a very weak position politically.Coup d'Etat ch 11 Boileau (TBS) Boileau was a French soldier in World War II. He was also a communist. Boileau was happy to fight against Germany but expressed an unwillingness to fight against the Soviet Union as it became increasingly apparent that the French government intended to join Germany's war effort against the USSR. Boileau's unwillingness to fight the Russians led him to brawl with Paul. The two men were evenly matched, and after each had injured the other, they appealed to their squad commander, Sergeant Luc Harcourt. Harcourt showed impartiality in disciplining them equally for each assaulting the other, but took Paul's side (however reluctantly) in the issue which led to the brawl. He warned Boileau that he would be expected to follow his orders. The only alternative would be mutiny and he would be executed if he tried. Nonplussed, Boileau attempted to convince Harcourt to join him in mutiny before the exchange ended.The Big Switch Denis Boucher (W&E) Denis Boucher was a French soldier during Second European War. After finishing basic training in 1939, he was assigned to Corporal Luc Harcourt's squad. Though he was only one year younger than Harcourt, he was in awe of the NCO, and of NCOs in general. He asked Harcourt for advice on how to deal with his woman, whom he expected of being unfaithful in his absence. Harcourt advised him that, if she was not willing to wait for him to return, she wasn't worth worrying over anyway. Boucher indignantly responded that he loved her.West and East, pgs. 89-90, TPB. Several days after this incident, Boucher failed to answer roll call. Harcourt reported him MIA to Sergeant Demange. Both NCOs reflected indifferently that he might have been killed in action or he might have deserted, but either way he was no longer their concern.Ibid.,pg. 90. Gustav Braun (CdE) Gustav Braun was a sectionmate of Willi Dernen's. He was killed in a Soviet ambush in the late summer of 1941.Coup d'Etat ch 18 Charles (CdE) Charles was a French soldier in Luc Harcourt's squad. After the British abrogated the Hess Agreement and resumed hostilities against Germany, Charles became demoralized and wished his own government would do the same. He confessed these feelings privately to Harcourt and also confessed that he was considering deserting, encouraged to do so by a safe passage which the Red Air Force had provided via a pamphlet drop. A very short while later, he and the rest of his squad came upon the body of a French soldier who had attempted to defect. The Soviets had tortured, killed, and desecrated his body. This discouraged Charles from deserting himself, but his morale remained very low.Coup d'Etat ch 11 Claude (Hitler's War) Claude was a tall, broad-shouldered Frenchman living in the village of Watigny where he owned and operated a tavern. He had served in the French army during World War I and had been wounded in the head losing an eye which he covered with a patch. He had spent two years as a POW where he picked up some German.Hitler's War - HC, pg. 316. The village was overrun and occupied by the Germans during the Battle of France and the divisional commander ordered marks be accepted at ten francs to the one. Claude kept his tavern open and had German soldiers in addition to his usual patrons. One evening, Willi Dernen and Wolfgang Storch came in and, avoiding the table occupied by Cpl. Arno Baatz and some other non-comms, sat down and ordered drinks. They were served by Claude's pretty young daughter which upset Baatz since Claude served him directly. When Claude refused to have his daughter serve him, Baatz attacked Claude giving him a blow that should have knocked the older man down if not out. But Claude just blinked his good eye and then smacked Baatz with a blow that knocked him over backwards causing him to smash his head on the stone floor. Baatz didn't move and Dernen fearfully asked if he were still alive. Claude checked and then laconically replied that "He lives". Claude then turned to Baatz's companions and told them Baatz was no longer welcome and to remove him.ibid, pgs. 314-318. Loretta Conway (CdE) Loretta Conway was the president of a women's club in York, Pennsylvania. When the Democratic Party gave Peggy Druce a trial run as a speaker at fundraisers for the party and the war effort, Mrs Conway's club sponsored her first event. Conway's 24-year-old son had volunteered for service when the US went to war with Japan. Conway's concern for her son's safety allowed her to speak movingly of the importance of popular support for the war effort in a private conversation with Druce. Peggy was so impressed that she suggested Conway speak at rallies herself, but Conway dismissed the idea immediately, citing her fear of public speaking.Coup d'Etat ch 7) Dalrymple (CdE) Dalrymple was a seaman aboard the [[USS Boise (The War That Came Early)|USS Boise]]. He escorted Pete McGill to the Marines' quarters after McGill came aboard in January, 1941.Coup d'Etat, pg. 5. Defective Mongolian Officer (HW) In October, 1938, a Mongolian Officer who believed himself to be in danger of being arrested and purged by Khorloogiin Choibalsan fled to Manchukuo to escape the communist dictator's reach. There he surrendered himself to a squad of Japanese soldiers led by Sergeant Hideki Fujita. In a broken Chinese conversation with Shinjiro Hayashi, he promised significant information on the disposition of Russo-Mongolian forces in the disputed border region between the two puppet states. He also provided Fujita and his comrades with the very valuable intelligence that the Soviet authorities in Mongolia were planning to grow far more cautious and conservative in their prosecution of the running war with Japan in the face of developments in Czechoslovakia.Hitler's War, pgs. 47-50, HC. Denis (CdE) Denis was a hard-drinking French veteran of World War I who served during the Spanish Civil War with the International Brigades. When France very quietly resumed its supplying military aid to the Second Republic, Chaim Weinberg asked Denis whether he could offer any insight into this policy reversal. Denis could not.Coup d'Etat ch 14 Doi (CdE) Doi was a Japanese microbiologist working at Unit 731. He spoke English. Because of this, Hideki Fujita asked for his help in interrogating American POW Herman Szulc. Doi agreed.Coup d'Etat ch 10 Eddie (TBS) '''Eddie' was an usher at a rally for Franklin D Roosevelt in Philadelphia in the fall of 1940. The Big Switch ch 15 Robert Eichenlaub (CdE) Commander Robert Eichenlaub of the Kriegsmarine was the commanding officer of the U-boat base at Narvik. His command was a largely improvised affair; Narvik was able to provide refits and supplies for the U-boats that docked there, but struggled to cater to the recreational needs of their crews. Of particular difficulty was establishing brothels in straightlaced northern Norway. Eichenlaub argued with U-boat skippers Julius Lemp and Hans-Dieter Kessler when the two skippers suggested he force women to provide sexual services for their crews against their will.Coup d'Etat ch 18 Eichenlaub also instructed Lemp to discipline his crew when a number of them (along with sailors from other U-boats) were involved in a large and costly brawl at a tavern established on the Narvik base. Lemp cited the brawl as symptomatic of the substandard recreational facilities available at Narvik.ibid Colonel Eluard (CdE) Eluard was the commanding officer of Luc Harcourt's regiment in the spring of 1941.Coup d'Etat ch 6 Hans-Joachim Fellmann (2F) Captain Hans-Joachim Fellmann was the commander of Arno Baatz's company in the winter of 1942-43. Two Fronts''p 308 Vladimir Federov (TBS) Second Lieutenant '''Vladimir Federov' was assigned to Sergei Yaroslavky's SB-2 bomber as his co-pilot in 1940, replacing Anastas Mouradian. He proved competent, if not as outstanding as his predecessor, but held a mutual dislike for his bombardier Ivan Kuchkov. During a night raid on a German ammunition stockpile in late 1940, his plane was shot down, and Federov was presumably killed along with Yaroslavsky. Feodosiya (LO) Feodosiya was a Ukrainian woman in a small village in the western part of the SSR. In 1943, when the Red Army force that had driven the Wehrmacht out became bogged down in the Fall Rasputitsa, Sgt. Ivan Kuchkov started a brief affair with her. She remarked on how hairy he was but before Kuchkov could get angry, she added she liked that in a man because it made her sure she wasn't messing around with another girl.Last Orders, pgs. 127-129, HC. Gladys (CdE) Gladys was a typing clerk at Herb Druce's office. While Herb's wife Peggy was stranded in Europe for nearly two years on account of World War II, Herb, who found himself growing increasingly lonely, began a brief extramarital affair with Gladys. Later, Herb confessed his affair to Peggy. She in turn confessed her one-night stand with Constantine Jenkins.Coup d'Etat ch 17 Douglas Green (TBS) Douglas Green was a CPO in the Royal Navy during World War II. He was in London in the summer of 1940 and paid his respects during the funeral procession of Winston Churchill. He overheard a boisterous young man express agreement with a group of Silver Shirt-uniformed hecklers organized by the British Union of Fascists and provoke Alistair Walsh into a fight. Green was prepared to attack the rightist from behind but Walsh managed to knock him out cold with just one blow. Green then invited Walsh to join him at a pub, where they listened to Churchill's funeral liturgy on the radio. Both senior non-coms were incredulous when they heard Neville Chamberlain announce that the Government intended to honor Churchill's memory by going to war with the Soviet Union.The Big Switch ch 15 Otto Griehl (CdE) Colonel Otto Griehl was the commander of Theo Hossbach's regiment in the spring of 1941. A thorough individualist, Hossbach was unimpressed by authority figures in general, and was disdainful of what he perceived as grandiosity in Griehl's attempts to get his subordinates excited before battle. However, he did admit that Griehl was a brave soldier and a competent commander.Coup d'Etat ch 7 Wolfgang Gruber (CdE) Wolfgang Gruber was Willi Dernen's commanding officer in the fall of 1941. He warned Dernen that one day soon the Soviets would detonate thousands of green flares over their lines, and that this would signal the French to cross the lines.Coup d'Etat ch 25 Sam Grynszpan (W&E) Sam Grynszpan was a stateless Jew originally from somewhere in Europe. After being displaced, he eventually found himself in Shanghai, where he owned and operated the Golden Lotus Dance Hall. He employed Vera Kuznetsova, a White Russian dance girl. Grynszpan may have been attracted to Vera himself, but he advised her to take advantage of American Marine Pete McGill when McGill became infatuated with her. Grynszpan and Vera agreed that he could offer her a good meal ticket.West and East, pg. 79, HC. Gustav (2F) '''Gustav' was a technician at the German submarine base at Wilhelmshaven. Gustav was an old acquaintance of Julius Lemp. In 1942, Lemp attempted without much success to learn political gossip from Gustav. In the course of this conversation, Lemp indiscreetly made several politically cynical comments to Gustav.Two Fronts pp 151-152 Gustav later reported these comments to Markus Apfelbaum.ibid p 154 Gustav and Lemp continued to maintain a correct if chilly relationship after the fact.ibid pp 335-36 Hataba (CdE) Major Hataba was the commanding officer of the Japanese Army Unit 113 in Burma in late 1941. He promised his subordinates that he would obtain permission to use biological warfare against the British Raj, a prospect which excited them. However, he did not receive this permission. His men wisely decided not to mention it at all.Coup d'Etat ch 21 Herb (W&E) Herb was a judge advocate officer of the United States Marine Corps stationed in Shanghai. He met daily with Captain Ralph Longstreet, for whose company he was responsible. In 1939, Longstreet promised one of his men, Pete McGill, that he would speak to Herb about McGill's request for permission to marry Vera Kuznetsova.West and East, pg. 364, TPB. Hirabayashi (CdE) Sergeant Hirabayashi was a veteran Japanese soldier stationed with Unit 113 in Burma. He befriended Hideki Fujita.Coup d'Etat ch 24 Karl-Friedrich von Holtzendorf (LO) Colonel Karl-Friedrich von Holtzendorf fought during World War II on the eastern front in Ukraine. After the Committee for the Salvation of the German Nation overthrew Adolf Hitler, von Holtzendorf was authorized to try to negotiate a peace along the front with the Soviet Union. He approached Sgt. Ivan Kuchkov's section with a large white flag and who brought him to his company commander Lt. Obolensky. Lt. Obolensky heard out von Holtzendorf and then ordered Sgt. Kuchkov to take him to regimental HQ several kilometers away.Last Orders, Pgs. 306-309, HC Ikejiri (CdE) Captain Ikejiri was Corporal Hideki Fujita's CO at Pingfan. Fujita humbly but insistently asked Ikejiri for a transfer after the disgrace of allowing three American prisoners to escape, saying his embarrassment meant he was no longer able to serve the Empire effectively at Pingfan. Ikejiri approved Fujita's transfer to Unit 113 on the Sino-Burmese border.Coup d'Etat ch 14 Jan (CdE) Jan was a Dutchman serving with the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. He befriended Vaclav Jezek one night in a Spanish bar when he and Jezek were both on furlough in Madrid.Coup d'Etat ch 12 Matilda Jenkins Matilda Jenkins was a working-class woman from Erie, PA in her late 60s. She was the mother of Constantine Jenkins. When Peggy Druce spoke in Erie, Matilda met her and told her that his son had been very impressed with her. Apparently Constantine had told his mother quite a lot about Peggy, for Matilda seemed to know many details of their relationship. This made Peggy extremely uncomfortable, as she was ashamed of her affair with the diplomat. However, if Jenkins's mother knew that particular detail, she did not share it with Druce.Coup d'Etat ch 8 Elijah Jones (CdE) Elijah "Jonesy" Jones (d. January, 1941) was a Marine private who served as a shell jerker aboard the [[USS Boise (The War That Came Early)|USS Boise]] at the outbreak of war between the United States and Japan. Because of his bad back, his immediate superior, Corporal Joe Orsatti, opted to replace Jonsey with Pete McGill. During a Japanese attack, a piece of shrapnel ripped Jonesy's throat out. He was buried at sea.Coup d'Etat, Chapter 1. Hans-Dieter Kessler (CdE) Hans-Dieter Kessler was a veteran U-boat skipper of the Kriegsmarine and longtime acquaintance of Julius Lemp. In the summer of 1941 his crew was assigned to hunt for British troopships carrying the BEF home to the UK from Soviet ports on the Arctic Ocean. His boat operated out of the U-boat base at Narvik in occupied Norway. He was disappointed at the inadequate recreational facilities at Narvik, saying that it denied his crew a much-needed opportunity to unwind after a stressful mission. After Kessler shared these feelings with Lemp, Lemp suggested he mention it to the base's CO, Commander Robert Eichenlaub. Lemp had had such a conversation with Eichenlaub literally minutes before, and hoped that the senior officer might be persuaded by having a number of skippers repeat the point over and over.Coup d'Etat ch 18 Klaus (CdE) Klaus was a cook for the Luftwaffe during the German-led invasion of the Soviet Union. Despite his low rank, Klaus showed no deference at all to the officers set over him, who took his insubordination for the good-natured ribbing it really was, and responded in kind.Coup d'Etat ch 20 Barney Klinsmann (2F) Corporal Barney Klinsmann was a Marine serving aboard the USS Ranger. He quarrelled with Pete McGill. The two Marines were ordered to end their quarrel by their superior, but they only pretended to do so, instead arranging to meet late at night for a brawl. Both were injured in the confrontation, but Klinsmann's injuries were far more severe, at one point verging on critical. Neither McGill nor Klinsmann admitted to the source of their injuries. Two Fronts pp 207-10. McGill's defeat of Klinsmann left other Marines slightly intimidated by the sergeant. ibid p 264 Koch (W&E) Lieutenant Colonel Koch commanded Theo Hossbach's panzer regiment on the Eastern Front in Poland. By all accounts he was a brave officer with a good tactical sense. However, the Waffen-SS found him complicit in in a coup d'etat attempted by some Wehrmacht generals in the High Command. He was arrested and executed before his troops as an example of what happened to officers who went against the German government. The gathered panzer crews were not happy and close to mutiny. A dozen Waffen-SS troopers would not stand a chance but the fear that it would lead to fighting between rebel and loyalist Wehrmacht units helped keep this in check. As the order for the firing squad to aim their weapons rang out, Lt. Col. Koch could have sparked the rebellion by denouncing Hitler but instead shouted "Long live Germany!" After Koch was pronounced dead, the SS captain in charge allowed the panzer crews to bury him. In a show of respect, Koch received a much fancier grave than most with a large cross that had "Fallen for the Vaterland" written on the horizontal arm. Sgt. Hermann Witt looked at it and remarked to Hossbach and Adi Stoss that a letter from his father had commented that death notices sometimes said "Fallen for the Führer and Vaterland" while others indicted just "Fallen for the Vaterland".West and East, pgs. 387-391, HC. Koral (HW) Major Koral commanded Sgt. Ludwig Rothe's panzar battalion from the beginning of hostilities in 1938. After certain generals failed in a coup d'etat against Adolf Hitler, the SS investigated associated Wehrmacht officers including Koral. Koral was suspected because of his long association with Generals Fritsche and Halder, his possible membership with the Social Democrats before 1933 and that one of his cousins had been married to a Jew. A SS captain interviewed Rothe and his subordinates Fritz Bittenfeld and Theo Hossbach but they did not provide any suspicious information. Nevertheless, Major Koral was arrested and taken back to Germany. Koral had been quite brave in combat, wounded twice, and awarded an Iron Cross, First Class during the course the current war.Hitler's War, pgs. 357-362, HC. Friedrich Lauterbach (Hitler's War) Friedrich Lauterbach was a professor of ancient history at the university in Münster. He had studied under Samuel Goldman as a graduate student and still felt kindly towards him even after the passage of the Nuremberg Race Laws. This prevented Goldman from teaching but Lauterbach helped him out by publishing articles written by Goldman in Pauly-Wissowa under his own name and passing the fee to Goldman. This lasted until Lauterbach was called up for military service. He gave Goldman twice the going rate for his final article and exchanged best wishes before leaving Goldman's house.Hitler's War - Hardcover, pgs 287-289. Doctor Lauterbach (CdE) Doctor Lauterbach, the brother of Friedrich Lauterbach, was killed in a British air raid on Münster in 1941. His body was dragged from the rubble of his home and identified by Samuel Goldman.Coup d'Etat ch 24 Ralph Longstreet (W&E) Ralph Longstreet was a United States Marine Corps captain stationed in Shanghai in 1939. He was Pete McGill's superior officer. McGill asked Longstreet to authorize his marriage to Vera Kuznetsova. Longstreet did not deny McGill's request out of hand but explained to him that for an active duty US serviceman to marry a stateless person in a foreign country posed extreme legal difficulties. Longstreet, who came from the Deep South, may or may not have been related to James Longstreet.West and East, pgs. 361-365, HC. Louie (2F) Louie was a wardheeler in a neighborhood in the Main Line section of Philadelphia. On the day of the Congressional election of 1942, he was stationed near a polling place in a firehouse two blocks from Peggy Druce's house. Throughout the day he harrangued voters as they approached the firehouse, despite frequent orders from Walt to respect the law against electioneering within 100 feet of a polling place.Two Fronts p 198 Luis - Nationalist (HW) Luis was one of two aides to General José Sanjurjo while the general was in exile in Portugal. Luis and the other aide, Orlando, initially load Sanjurjo's wardrobe into a small two-seater plane that was destined for Burgos. However, after some careful words from the pilot, Major Juan Antonio Ansaldo, Sanjurjo relented, and had Luis and Orlando remove the general's clothing from the cargo hold.Hitler's War, pgs. 3-5, HC. Luis - Republican (LO) Luis was a Spanish Republican who helped fill out the ranks of the Abe Lincolns after the Americans suffered heavy casualties over the years of the Spanish Civil War. In 1943, with the Republicans advancing well, Chaim Weinberg asked Luis if he thought paying back the Nationalists too hard was a good idea. Luis answered that they had a lot to pay back for, what they had done to comrades like Mike Carroll and to the country as a whole.Last Orders, pgs. 177-178, HC. Willi Maass (HW) Sgt. Willi Maass was in Sgt. Ludwig Rothe's Panzer company during the invasion of the Netherlands. He commanded a captured Czechoslovakian LT vz 35. Rothe admired the Czech machine which had thicker armor and heavier gun than his own Panzer II although it did have an even more underpowered engine. The two shared cigarettes and discussed when the invasion would go forward while maintaining their machines at a concentration point near the border.Hitler's War, pgs. 130-133, HC. The Major (CdE) A major in the British Army was a co-conspirator of Alistair Walsh in the coup d'etat which overthrew the government of Horace Wilson in the spring of 1941. The major and Walsh were studying the defenses of 10 Downing Street the day before Walsh was arrested. Walsh reflected at the time that the major was a good deal more conspicuous than would have been ideal for the task.Coup d'Etat ch 9 When the coup actually occurred, the major led a force which seized control of a prison where a number of conspirators, including Walsh, were being held. He appraised Walsh of the coup's success.ibid ch 10 Rochus Mauer (LO) Kapitan zur See '''Rochus Mauer' was a senior engineering officer in the Kriegsmarine during World War II. For several years during the war, he had worked on the new new Type XXI U-boat. His development team had designed the new streamlined hull a couple of years before the war had ended but hadn't put it into production because Dr. Walther had come up with a new hydrogen peroxide-powered engine which would have revolutionized propulsion if it worked properly. Walther's political connections with people in the government caused the development team to waste time on trying to come up with ways to prevent the new engine from catching fire. Mauer lamented they had wasted two years on boats with good hulls and death-trap propulsion systems.Last Orders, pgs. 351-352. When Kapitan Mauer explained the situation to Lt. Commander Julius Lemp as he showed him the new boat, Lemp hoped that with the change in government, they would not have to put up with that sort of political interference. Mauer agreed but was skeptical stating that generals would find find new ways of fouling things up and if engineers such as himself were in charge, they would find yet another way.Ibid, pgs. 352-354. Marie (W&E) Marie was the girlfriend of Denis Boucher. When Boucher was conscripted into the French army during the war, he worried that Marie might cheat on him while he was gone. She was always flirtatious, and had had a fight with Boucher before Boucher reported to Basic Training, a fight which was not resolved when Boucher left. Boucher confided all these things to his corporal, Luc Harcourt. Harcourt told him, not unkindly, that if she proved faithless in his absence, Marie was never worth Boucher's affection anyway, and he'd be better off forgetting her. Boucher took scant comfort in this advice, for he insisted that he really and truly loved her. Several days after Boucher spoke with Harcourt, he failed to answer roll call. Harcourt was unable to determine whether he'd been killed in action or deserted to return to Marie. Harcourt did not particularly care either way, and neither did his superior, Sergeant Demange, to whom he reported Boucher as MIA. Demange, far less patient with raw recruits' foibles than was Harcourt, hoped that, if Boucher had deserted, he would find that Marie had been unfaithful and that she infected him with a venereal disease. Despite being more compassionate than the senior NCO, Harcourt found he agreed with the sentiment.West and East, pgs. 89-90, TPB. Lorenz Müller (HW) Lorenz Müller was a Berlin police officer in his fifties. Peggy Druce happened to look at him when he came out of a tavern and suck beer foam out of his mustache while on duty. To cover his embarrassment, he demanded her papers. She showed him her American passport but he demanded she come with him to the police station. They appeared before a desk sergeant where Müller spoke in German too quickly for Druce to follow. The sergeant then asked Druce what happened. She explained she was an American and a neutral and showed him her passport. He looked at it and told her she was free to go. Müller spluttered in surprise and then was thoroughly reamed out by the sergeant.Hitler's War, pgs. 464-466, HC. Eberhard Nehring (2F) Eberhard Nehring was an electrician's mate who served aboard U-30 under the command of Julius Lemp. Nehring was a capable electrician's mate and enjoyed his captain's full confidence. He was a native of Munster, and had family ties to that city when it erupted in civil disobedience in the spring of 1943. Nehring made an indiscreet comment on these events in a letter home. The letter was intercepted by the Gestapo, which demanded that Nehring be relieved of duty, presumably so they could imprison and torture him. Their demands were met despite strenuous objections by Lemp.Two Fronts pp 394-96 Nina (CdE) Nina was a young woman on a Ukrainian kolkhoz during the German invasion of the USSR. She was attracted to strong, brawny men. She allowed herself to be seduced by the less-than-suave Ivan Kuchkov shortly before the Germans assaulted her village and Kuchkov's regiment.Coup d'Etat ch 19 Yevgeni Novikov (CdE) Yevgeni Borisovich Novikov was a Soviet POW captured by Luc Harcourt when France invaded the USSR in 1941. Novikov, who spoke French fluently, shared with Harcourt his life story: how he was born to upper-middle class parents in the days before the Russian Revolution. His parents, being landowners, were declared enemies of the state and executed by the Bolsheviks. Yevgeni was not executed, for which he counted himself lucky. He was conscripted into the Red Army and managed to earn promotion to corporal despite his politically incorrect background. He surrendered to the French army knowing that he may be summarily killed, but believing that his fluency in French might keep him alive if intelligence officers decided it would be convenient to interrogate him.Coup d'Etat ch 19 Orlando (HW) Orlando 'was one of two aides to General José Sanjurjo while the general was in exile in Portugal. Luis and the other aide, Luis, initially load Sanjurjo's wardrobe into a small two-seater plane that was destined for Burgos. However, after some careful words from the pilot, Major Juan Antonio Ansaldo, Sanjurjo relented, and had Luis and Orlando remove the general's clothing from the cargo hold.Hitler's War'', pg. 3-5, HC. Vladimir Ostrogorsky (LO) '''Vladimir Ostrogorsky was a Soviet bomber pilot in The Second World War. He was a squadmate of Anastas Mouradian. In the spring of 1944, he mocked Mouradian's "pussy." Mouradian challenged him to a fistfight and almost immediately sucker-punched him into submission. Last Orders pp 323-24, HC Paul (TBS) Paul was a French soldier in World War II. His political orientation was right wing. He brawled with a comrade, Boileau, after Boileau, a communist, expressed his unwillingness to go to war with the Soviet Union as it became increasingly apparent that the French government intended to switch sides. Paul appealed to the two men's squad commander, Sergeant Luc Harcourt. Harcourt warned Boileau that he would be executed if he attempted to incite a mutiny, much to Paul's satisfaction. However, Harcourt was equally harsh in disciplining both men for fighting in the ranks.The Big Switch ch 15 Peter (CdE) Peter was a pilot in the same squadron as Hans-Ulrich Rudel. Unlike Rudel, he was a drinking man, and looked forward to the fall rasputina of 1941 as an opportunity to drink heavily.Coup d'Etat ch 20 Wilf Peterson (CdE) Wilf Peterson was a second lieutenant in the British Army stationed in Egypt. He was Alistair Walsh's commanding officer. Peterson's deference to Walsh went well beyond the normal amount which junior officers were informally expected to show senior noncoms. Walsh quickly realized that Peterson was intimidated by Walsh's connections to the military provisional government. Coup d'Etat ch 20 Polly (CdE) Polly was a prostitute working in Honolulu, Hawaii. She originally hailed from Fargo, North Dakota but had come to Hawaii for better weather and better professional prospects. One night she was hired by Pete McGill. McGill felt very slightly guilty about hiring Polly, as though he were betraying the memory of the deceased Vera Kuznetsova.Coup d'Etat ch 12 Martin Priller (2F) Martin Priller was an electrician's mate in the Kriegsmarine. He was assigned to U-30 to replace Eberhard Nehring when Nehring was purged by the Gestapo. Julius Lemp quizzed Priller before the boat launched and concluded that Priller would be an acceptable replacement for Nehring, though he missed Nehring's experience and resented the injustice of his liquidation.Two Fronts p 396 Maximilian Priller (HW) Due to casualties among officers, Sgt. Ludwig Rothe commanded his Panzer platoon for short periods on more than one occasion. He didn't mind when Second Lieutenant Maximilian Priller took command, since while young he did have some notion of what to do with Panzers. Outside Coucy-le-Château Priller held a meeting with his Panzer commanders and outlined their line of attack past the town. While he made it sound easy, it proved to be anything but.Hitler's War pgs. 258-264, HC. Marcus Puttkamer (W&E) Marcus Puttkamer (d 1939) was a German sergeant and sniper sent to hunt Czech sniper Vaclav Jezek in France in 1939.West and East, pg. 304. He befriended Willi Dernen and recruited Dernen to be his assistant in the snipers' duel--a very dangerous job, but one which allowed Dernen to escape Arno Baatz's chain of command. Puttkamer was so pleased with Dernen's performance that he trained Dernen to become a sniper himself.Ibid. pgs. 305-307. His plan was for the two snipers to operate in loose cooperation to bag Jezek.Ibid., pgs. 312-315. However, he wound up training Dernen as his replacement instead: The day Dernen began operating fully as a sniper was the day that Puttkamer fell to Jezek's rifle.Ibid. pg. 316. von Rehfeld (W&E) Major von Rehfeld was a major in the German army during Second World War. He served as a staff officer to General Leonard Kaupitsch, commander of German forces in Denmark. von Rehfeld helped Peggy Druce obtain a Danish exit visa and passage to Sweden.West and East, pgs. 322-324, TPB. Friedrich Reinberger (HW) Lieutenant Commander Friedrich Reinberger commanded a destroyer during World War II. He was in Berlin making a report on New Year's Eve 1938 and decided to celebrate at a local hotel. There he met Peggy Druce and joined her at her table. The two chatted and since Druce found him not a bad guy for a German, agreed to dance. The party was interrupted by an air raid forcing everyone into the hotel's bomb shelter.Hitler's War - Hardcover, pgs. 200-205. Paul Renouvin (HW) Paul Renouvin was a college student who had been drafted just before the outbreak of a new European war. He was assigned to Sgt. Demange's squad and fought well enough. One day Demange boasted about the Calvados which he had found and filled his canteen. Renouvin surprised the rest of the squad by not being at all impressed stating "C'est rien", that is, "That's nothing". Demange demanded to know what he had and Renouvin replied Scotch from a dead Tommy officer. Demange scoffed and bet him his Calvados that he was lying. However, when Demange had a taste, he found Renouvin did have Scotch. Demange was disgusted but did pay off the bet which Renouvin shared with the rest of the squad.Hitler's War - Hardcover, pgs. 230-231. Rolf (TBS) Rolf (d. 1940) was a German casualty of war in World War II. Toward the end of the winter of 1940, he and a number of his comrades were listening to the radio in an abandoned house in an occupied village in northeastern France. Their relaxation had been interrupted by a politically-charged argument among Arno Baatz, Willi Dernen, and Anton. After the argument ended and Baatz and Anton left the house, the soldiers, unsettled by the reminder that they lived under an increasingly totalitarian government, tried to recapture their earlier mood of relaxation by listening to the music of Barnabas von Geczy. Rolf inadvertently defeated these attempts by commenting that, while he enjoyed von Geczy, he would have preferred a jazz piece--jazz being a style of music under Nazi suppression.The Big Switch ch 7 After von Geczy's selection, the radio played a piece by Richard Wagner. Rolf left the room rather than listen to the opera composer. He was soon killed by a French sniper while crossing a broad, straight street before Dernen, a former sniper, could warn him to be careful.Ibid Eberhard Rothmann (LO) Eberhard Rothmann was Gefreiter with the Wehrmacht. In 1943 he was serving in Belgium when his squad of soldiers were attacked by Sgt. Alistair Walsh and a squad of British troops. Walsh had rushed up to the wall separating them, threw a Mills bomb over it and then sprayed blindly over it with his Sten gun. The squad rushed around the corner with weapons ready. Rothmann's squad had taken some casualties and so they surrendered. After getting permission to tend to their wounded, Rothmann, who knew some English, told Walsh he was glad to surrender since his leaders have taken his country twice into losing wars in 25 years.Last Orders, pgs. 180-181, HC. Rothstein (HW) Rothstein was a Jewish butcher who owned a shop in Berlin. Under the Nuremberg Race Laws, he was forbidden from doing business with any non-Jewish Germans. In 1938, Peggy Druce bought a leg of chicken from his shop. Rothstein was nervous to be selling to a Gentile but took Peggy's business. He also gave her good service, offering to bone the chicken leg so it would weigh less and she would have to use fewer ration coupons.Hitler's War, pg. 173, HC. As Druce left the butcher shop, the Gestapo was enraged that she had defied the Nuremberg Race Laws. They demanded to see her identity papers. Instead she showed them her US passport. She knew they dared not offend a powerful neutral country by unduly molesting its citizen, and she relished their frustration at their inability to punish her. Unfortunately, her triumph was short-lived, as the policemen simply brutalized Rothstein instead.Ibid., pg. 174. Reverend Ruppelt (CdE) Reverend Ruppelt was the minister at the First Presbyterian Church of York, Pennsylvania. His church hosted Peggy Druce when the Democrats sent her on a trial run to determine whether she would be an effective speaker on the fundraiser circuit.Coup d'Etat ch 7 Jacques Soupault (TBS) Lieutenant-colonel Jacques Soupault was an officer in the French army during World War II. He was Luc Harcourt's regimental commander. In 1940 he promoted Harcourt from corporal to sergeant to recognize Harcourt's heroism the night before in repulsing a German trench raid. Harcourt, commander of a machine gun crew, had poured a withering fire into the enemy troops. Unknown to Soupault, Harcourt had done so only because the four tablets of codeine he'd taken after being shot in the ass had given him a surplus of nervous energy instead of having the more common sedative effect.The Big Switch pg. 166, HC SS Top Sergeant (LO) A SS Top Sergeant became holed up in the Münster Rathaus after the Committee for the Salvation of the German Nation assassinated Adolf Hitler. He, along with most of the SS and parts of the Wehrmacht that remained loyal to the Nazi Party, were outnumbered and forced to retreat to strongholds such as the Rathaus. When the building came under fire from a 105, the Sergeant formed up an assault force, including Corporal Arno Baatz, to try to overrun the gun. While taking casualties, the small force came close to the 105 but were thwarted by an appearance by a Panzer IV loyal to the Committee. Baatz shot the panzer commander standing in the turret and the Sergeant attempted to throw a grenade into the open hatch but failed. Both were gunned down by the panzer's hull gunner.Last Orders, Pgs. 329-333, HC. Johann Stallinger (CdE) Johann Stallinger was a section mate of Willi Dernen. In the late summer of 1941, he sustained a leg wound in a Soviet ambush.Coup d'Etat ch 18 Stamic (2F) Stamic (d 1942) was the maternal grandfather of Vaclav Jezek. He died of liver disease in early 1942.Two Fronts p 300 Josef Stein (W&E) Josef Stein was a German Jew who owned a grocery store in Münster. During the war, the twin pressures of wartime rationing and anti-Semitic race laws forced Stein to sell low-quality produce at high prices. When his customers complained, Stein bitterly insisted that he was doing the best he could under the circumstances.West and East, pg. 33. Tannenwald (W&E) Tannenwald was a commander of the Kriegsmarine. In 1939, he was a staff officer for Admiral Karl Dönitz. When U-30 returned from the Scandinavian campaign, Tannenwald met its skipper, Julius Lemp, and ordered him to report to Donitz "at his convenience" for a debriefing. After the debriefing was interrupred by news of a coup, Lemp asked Tannenwald for information, and Tannenwald urged him to return to his assigned barracks.West and East, pgs. 371-373 HC. Mr. Terwilliger (TBS) Mr. Terwilliger was a campaign operative for the Franklin D. Roosevelt campaign in 1940. At a campaign rally in Philadelphia, Mr Terwilliger confirmed that Herb and Peggy Druce were on the list of people authorized to attend the rally and dispatched the usher Eddie to walk them to their seats.The Big Switch, pg. 336. Claus Valentiner (LO) Claus Valentiner was a trained Panzer IV driver who saw limited service in Belgium as the war wound down. He was wounded in the leg and, on recovery, assigned as driver to a Panzer IV in Münster. The panzer commander Hermann Witt had been wounded and the driver Adi Stoss took command. The crew had wondered if they would get a new sergeant or a new driver and with the assignment of Valentiner they found out that Stoss was being made the commander permanently.Last Orders, pgs. 377-378. Vanya (CdE) Vanya was a soldier in Ivan Kuchkov's squad. Slow-witted and unintelligent, he nonetheless followed with only a little difficulty when Kuchkov warned him not to repeat a comment that could be interpreted as defeatist where it might be overheard by agents of the NKVD.Coup d'Etat ch 19 Vernon Vaughn (CdE) Vernon Vaughn was a druggist in Carbondale, Pennsylvania. He hosted Peggy Druce when she came to Carbondale to sell war bonds. He attempted to seduce Druce. She resisted the temptation quite easily. Coup d'Etat ch 23 Walt (2F) Walt was a policeman in Philadelphia. On Election Day, 1942, he was assigned to a firehouse two blocks from Peggy Druce's house. The firehouse was serving as a polling place, and Walt's duty was to enforce the prohibition against electioneering within 100 feet of the polling place--a prohibition which local wardheelers such as Louie frequently flouted.Two Fronts p 198 Carlos Weinberg (CdE) Carlos Federico Weinberg was the legitimate son of Chaim Weinberg and La Martellita. He was born in Madrid in the summer of 1941.Coup d'Etat ch 18 At his mother's request (or perhaps "at her demand" would be more accurate), he was named in honor of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.ibid Bradley Worthington III (W&E) Bradley Worthington III was the US consul-general in Shanghai. He was a prosperous Rotarian from the Midwest. He was also deceptively shrewd and intelligent. In December 1939, he stepped outside the consulate to see the cause of several explosions. While outside, the sound of further explosions drove him to hit the deck, suggesting the reflexes of a World War I veteran. A Japanese soldier trained a rifle on Worthington, but his NCO prevented him from firing.West and East, pgs. 413-414, HC. Ichiro Yanai (LO) Ichiro Yanai was a sergeant with the Japanese Army. He was part of the garrison on Midway Island after it was taken from the United States. After a particularly nasty bombing raid by the Americans, he got into a conversation with Sgt. Hideki Fujita. He noticed Fujita looking with concern at the tents of the bacteriological warfare unit but Fujita diverted his attention by commenting that the bombing didn't seem to have harmed their food stores at the supply depot in the same direction.Last Orders, pgs. 52-54, HC. Sergei Yaroslavsky's Mother (W&E) Sergei Yaroslavsky's Mother had died well before the hostilities that began in 1939 between the Soviet Union and Poland. At one point during the war, Yaroslavsky took shelter in a trench during a German air raid. Yaroslavsky remembered the smell of damp earth from his mother's burial and associated it with graves. Since he was being attacked with deadly force, the association was one he wished he had not made. Ziegler (W&E) Colonel Ziegler was the commander of German Wehrkreis VI in the fall of 1939. After the October 1939 Plot failed, officer of the Waffen-SS arrested Ziegler and other Wehrmacht officers at Wehrkreis headquarters in Münster for being part of the plot. Whether or not Ziegler actually was involved is unknown.West and East, pgs. 379-380, HC. References * Category:Minor Characters